X marks the spot: Kyle really rallies for rink’s new roof

There was a lot of excitement in the Kyle Community Sports Centre Feb. 25 as the popular senior men’s Kyle Elks hockey team battled Edam in the Saskatchewan Hockey Association playoffs.

The game was an epic battle as it lasted five hours and four overtimes, with the Elks unfortunately losing the game.However, the Kyle Recreation Board and its efforts to replace its roof definitely won. From that game alone, the Rec Board was able to earn $3,800 towards the fundraising total of $450,000 which is needed to replace the Sports Centre’s roof. Town of Kyle’s Recreation Director Crystal Imrie has had a lot to cheer about since the fundraising efforts began only a short time ago. As of Feb. 25, $245,250 had been raised in 25 days. “Buy-in from the community has been tremendous,” explains Imrie. “It’s astonishing really. We couldn’t have asked for a worse time to do this (with the economy the way it is) ... The spirit of this community is amazing.”For the fundraising campaign, Imrie decided to post an overhead shot of the arena which is hand-drawn on a poster. It adorns a wall near one of the entrances in the arena known to be a popular gathering spot for many people.The diagram of the arena roof has been separated into 900 squares and everytime $500 has been raised, a square gets crossed out. To launch the project in earnest, the Recreation Board held an official Rink Roof Project Fundraising Kickoff potluck supper Feb. 1 at the Elks Hall. At the start of the evening, Imrie was initially concerned as she says the supper had attracted about 60 people, but by the end of the event an impressive $16,000 was raised which gave the launch an emphatic and positive start. Kyle’s Recreation Board with the support of the Sports Centre Committee spearheaded the roof initiative. Imrie says because it was a large-scale capital project, they needed to get the Town of Kyle and local rural municipal governments involved.The Kyle Community Sports Centre was built in 1986 for $1.2 million. “Now that building is valued at $12 million,” explains Imrie who says adjustors evaluate what it would cost to replace such a building. “That was a selling point to the community. We want to protect our investment. Everybody had the same reaction, they were taken aback (about the dollar figures involved). Why wouldn’t we try to do something?”Following that initial start Feb. 1, the project has been rolling. The Town and R.M. made significant contributions and there have been personal and service club donations. Imrie explains efforts were made after local officials determined something needed to be done with the roof on the rink. They brought in an engineering firm from Regina which determined a new roof was required. So, to protect their investment which is a pillar of the community, they went with a plan which will begin in March. The advantage to using this plan is, they are going to be building a new roof over the existing one so as to not disrupt any uses of the building which includes, not only hockey in the winter and spring, but other community events such as weddings, archery shoots, etc. as the year progresses. The roofing company will peel what they need to off as they go.Imrie says they were told the project would take four months to complete starting in March. They have given themselves a year to raise the money. The only disruption will be that one entrance will be blocked off so patrons will have the minor inconvenience of having to go through the curling rink entrance.“I’m so proud of this community and that I’m from here,” says Imrie who won’t rest until they accomplish their goal. “We won’t quit until that last X is checked off.”